Property developer Urban&Civic has secured planning permission for a £100m scheme in the centre of Manchester.

Above: The development site on Princess Street and, below, a CGI of the scheme

Revised plans for the site on the corner of Princess Street and Whitworth Street in Manchester comprise two residential buildings housing 238 flats, as well as a 148-bedroom 4-star hotel, ground floor commercial units and a new landscaped public square over an existing four-level basement car park.

Work on the initial phase of the residential buildings is expected to start by mid 2016, slightly ahead of the previously envisaged schedule, with the first new residents moving in approximately 20 months later.

The project will redevelop a canal-side site in the Whitworth Street Conservation Area left derelict since the financial crisis in 2008, when a previous development was abandoned with just the foundations and basement car park completed.

Urban&Civic originally purchased the one-acre site in December 2014 with an existing planning consent that had been granted in 2007. Then old plans were for three buildings (an office block, apartments and a hotel) arranged around a public space. The new plans reflect market changes since then, the developer said.

Urban&Civic executive chairman Nigel Hugill said: “Urban&Civic very much see ourselves as long term investors in Manchester, having built No1 Deansgate and Green Quarter in our previous business. The city is continuing to grow economically and culturally and we are determined to make our own contribution to that process."